Tainted Waters.

pharmaceuticals in drinking waterLast week I attended Advanced Placement Environmental Science Educators Training at Kennesaw State University. Kennesaw University is located in the north-western part of the massive metropolis called Atlanta. During the training I learned different inquiry (lab) based methods of teaching advanced placement environmental science to students. It was a great week filled with fun experiences.

As a part of the experiential learning for the training, the training participants visited the Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) sewage treatment plant. While there, we discussed the advantages of an MBR over traditional sewage treatment plants. In the middle of this discussion, a person asked a question about pharmaceuticals. I vividly remember the question: Do MBR sewage treatment process remove pharmaceuticals in the treated water?

That question actually made me think twice about where the medications (such as pills, injections, topical creams, etc) that millions and millions of people take everyday ends-up. In fact, it is a known fact that what goes in must come out. Which conforms with the law of conservation of mass. Only a small portion of the medication that we ingest is actually metabolized. The rest is released to the environment through our urine, fecal matters, through perspiration, and many other means. The questions I asked myself while reflecting on this issue was: where do the by-products go to after we flush the toilets and/or when dumped in landfills after they expire? Are there microbes or natural phenomenon that break these pharmaceuticals down?

Pharmaceuticals are the biggest incoming environmental and health challenge of our time. There are millions and millions of people taking a variety of medication each single day. All these pharmaceuticals finally end up in our waterways. In addition, most of the pharmaceuticals have long half-lives (Brausch et al.2012). Furthermore, there are few natural microbes capable of metabolizing these toxic chemicals. Thus, they stay in the environment longer increasing the likelihood that their concentrations in our waterways will continue to increase each passing year and possibly reaching toxic levels in a not so distant future.

The effect of pharmaceuticals to human and other animals is not very well documented as of yet. However, several studies done on fish have shown negative effect to fish population exposed to elevated levels of pharmaceuticals in rivers, streams, and lakes (Daughton & Temes, 1999; Boxall et al. 2003a; 2004a; Floate et al. 2005). Furthermore, some studies have confirmed that in some species male fish have actually turned into female when their habitats were exposed to high levels of pharmaceuticals for long durations(Brodin et al. 2014).

What the low concentrations of pharmaceuticals found currently in drinking water doing to the human body is currently a mystery.

Admittedly, the pharmaceuticals are in minute concentrations right now. However, since none of the water treatment plants can remove them off of our water supply–we are running the risk of their concentration increasing over the next few years to toxic levels and harming us if they are not doing so already.

No Government Plans to Eliminate Pharmaceutical in Our Drinking Water

Right now in America there are no legislation to deal with pharmaceuticals in drinking water or the water that goes into the streams, rivers, and lakes. At the same time, trace amount of pharmaceuticals have already been recorded in many urban and suburban water supply systems.

What is America going to do with this impending health and environmental problem?

I do not know about you, but I would rather not drink unprescribed pills in the water I drink. That’s just me.

With all the hormones, antidepressants, and other different types of medications in the drinking water supplies; no wonder–people can no-longer stand each- other.

And you are wrong even if you drink bottled water–you are still taking in pills!

This post (for Mr. Fundi’s hw) is about how there is a different type of contamination in our water supply. Instead of the normal waste contamination, there is a contamination that comes from the pharmaceuticals that we use everyday. We digest the pills, tablets etc. and they ultimately end up coming out of us. There is not much research done on this type of contamination, but there is a fear this could have dire consequences.

The government does not have any legislation or laws that allow for there to be treatment of the water. If there is a risk of something harmful happening from this, then the government should take the necessary precautions to help stop this. With all of the chemicals and hormones that go inside of medicine, there could be serious biological disasters to the human body. Personally, I like to have clean water without chemicals.

I think your article is really interesting. It really made me think about whenever I suppose I drink a glass of “pure water” but the water isn’t really pure. Also if the water affected this male fish population I’m sure the water has to affect us in some way as well.

This reminds me of the Flint water crisis! Though the Flint situation was a disaster, this is even more alarming because it effects nearly the entire world’s population. I never considered this concept and I am sure there are other things we consume that we should be wary about as it is recycled back into the environment. In my personal opinion, what needs to be done is a thorough, possibly chemical screening of our water before it is redistributed to the masses, and that there be a complete investigation on the effects and possible health issues before they are brought to everyone’s unpleasant surprise.

This Article illuminates people on the bigger issue of harmful substances being leaked into our water supply. I think we should better fund efforts to prevent these types of problems for the general well being of the American populace.

This article displays the immidiate issue with dangerous chemical build up in our primary water sources. Also, it shows that other toxins have been located within other humans at one point before. These chemicals were’nt able to be properly or safely digested by past consumers,proving the initial increasing threat to our and future digestion tracts and well being. As for the government’s “stance” on the matter,I think that they have not focused on the situation particullarly because not very many seem aware or concerned. Otherwise,they would somehow put an end to the problem if more of the population raised worry over it. Only time can actually tell if it will affect us soon or down the line in future generations. Until then,they will most likely turn a blind eye and sell a few bottles anyway.

The topics described in this article intrigue and scare me at the same time. To know that there are amounts of pharmaceuticals flowing unchecked through our water systems is a scary thought to think of. But what makes it worse is that it is a known fact yet our government is taking no steps to try to fix the problem. Also, I feel as though people should be more well informed about whats in their water and how they get it. However, there are no known ways to remove the pharmaceuticals from our water supply, so what are we supposed to do?

The article was pretty chill i guess. Know that all these hormonal pills could quite possibly be in the water I am currently drinking…..scares me. I think we should invest money in research to find a proper filtration system to keep our everyday water fresh. But on a serious note i like starwars…….(this explains the light saber noises)

I thought this article was very fascinating to know that I’ve been drinking non-perscribed pills, Now I believe I’m going to be more conscious about the water I drink and the medications I take whenever I am sick.

This article was pretty interesting and it was radical. When I was reading the article it scared me about the hormonal, antidepressant, and other types of medication in the drinking water. Also there are no legislations to deal with pharmaceuticals in the drinking water and or the water that flows into the streams, rivers and lakes. The solution about this problem is drink filter water and or drink bottle water.

I live in a county with a state of the art water treatment Plant. I know because I’ve toured it. They use less harmful chemicals and have test labs. America needs to spend more tax money on the country’s health instead of things like going to war. If all county’s had state of the art water treatment plants instead of operating on technology from the 60’s, we would have a lot less contamination problems.

Reading this article was very informative ! I did not know that pills, creams, and all the everyday medicines people take would be in our drinking water, that’s pretty crazy. Does it still work if you have a water purifier like a brita? Very interesting article.

Like the others above have said, this article is very informative. It is almost completely disturbing that America has not yet figured out a way to filter out the pharmaceuticals in our water supply. If the fish are already turning from male to female, then just imagine what will happen to human males and females in the future! I do hope that sometime in the near future, the government appoints someone that is highly qualified to handle this problem…..

I dont drink water as much as i should, but little did i know that when i do, it could be containing medicine. I would think that in a world as advanced as ours, they would have a system that cleaned our drinking water to top quality, but as guess we cant have everything?

This article make me think twice about our drinking water. It is so wierd to me that we could be drinking water with everyday medication in it. I believe that our country needs to invest more money on our health such as having a better filtration system so we can have fresh water for our everyday life.

ok….that scared me…I was just drinking water when I read this and I stoped drinking it…. The govt should really work on this issue because it is about the safety and health of the people. If some male fish turned into female fish, what will happen to human kind in some years? are the men going to turn in women? or vice versa? we are asking why so many people are having cancers those days. I’m sure this is a cause of some cancers. we should really find some solutions before it get worse. The govt should find something to filtre all those medicines in the water we drink.It is sad to conlude that even with this information we will still drink the water.We cant just stop, because it contributes to life. The only think we can do is to resolve the problem.

this article got me thinking abot water.. is the water really that bad .. how could the govt let us drink it .. i mean wouldnt the water eventually kill us little by little.. or just turn our genders aroud like that fish.

I have learned a great deal of information about the water I through this article. I wont stop drinking water but I will slow up on it. Knowing that the water is tainted with pills and other things make me feel uneasy but atleast i know now.

It intrigues me to know what could possibly be in the drinking water. Although the process to remove all of the medications from water may not be possible, im sure theres a way to clean up the water a little. In the future many people could become sick with the increasing mwdications levels of water. We should fix the problem.

It intrigues me to know the effects of medication on our water supply. The rising levels could potential make us all sick one day. In the immediate future i think we should try to limit the levels of medication in our water supply. this problem should be adressed soon.

This is something that I believe is extremely serious, this is a very dangerous health risking issue.The government should definitely invest in the cost for research. The fact that animals are changing gender should be a good enough reason.

There is no question to really answer, but this article doesn’t surprise me one bit. My mother doesn’t allow me to take any kind of pharmaceutical drugs and prescriptions because she is all about health and wellness. So to conclude i could do nothing but to agree with my mother and the facts of this article. Our generation and government is very blinded by the harmful things they advise to us.

I think that it is intresting to know that the water we drink can also have different medications in it as well. I think that it is important for it to be a different water system. one for drinking and one for sewage but the two should never mix.

My mom always said that I shouldn’t drink tap water and stuff and I’ve never believed it but after reading this article and figuring out all the hormones, antidepressants, medications in the water I’m scared to drink it. The purest thing in the earth that’s suppose to be water is now getting infected by people. Wow this is why I stick to coke

I’ve learned a lot of good information about the water once i read this. I will slow up on drinking water, but not stop completely of course. Now that I know that the water is laced with pills and other things make me insecure about it, but at least I know now for future reference.

thats is a really scary thought that we dont need to worry about a nut case poisoning the water supply but knowing that by taking an aspirin and and going to the bathroom im doing it myself. I hope that theres some technological break through in the next few years maybe a synthetic enzyme or possibly nano bot taking off.

This is very intresting! Now i wonder if the water i drink is a healthy? Yeah probably not. This made me think about drinking out of faucets, buying water, or even the one in my house from my filter. I mean it goes through nasty pipes that have been there and ever sice i lived here no pipes have been renewed and now theirs medication in water? i like your perspective and the way you observed this.

I would have never thought that I could in some way be taking medicine while just drinking water. This could be very great for our futures. We could just drink water from the sewage plant and be healthier. But it is probably not as effective as actually taking the medications. If they could figure out how to get the full effect of the medications through the sewage water than that could be a great breakthrough for science.

This article gives me more detail into what I already knew was a serious situation. I was always aware that it wasn’t safe to drink tap water and had been careful before, but now I know that it would be better to drink purified water.

This article is beneficial to our society to let the population know be careful what you drink. We are paying the government our tax dollors to ensure that we have clean tap water. What if people can’t afford bottled water all the time? This is unfair to us. Instead of paying the government more money out of our paychecks to ensure our water is clean, the government should be more careful about what they are putting into our tap water. This is unfair to the poeple of this country to not have clean tap water.

This is a fantastic article which associates with what really is in our drinking water. I had no idea until this day that medicine and many other chemicals still flow through purified water. I was never aware that tap water could carry these sort of things. I think that it’s very unsafe and just plain wrong.I feel that we should find a way to solve this problem. .After reading this article I’m going to try to be more careful of the water I drink.

This was a real eye opener I had no idea that this was in our water. Nothing is 100% safe but I didn’t think that applied to water. It makes me wonder in a couple years what our water ways will be like. Hopefully America observes this as a increasing problem and tries to prevent it from getting worse.

This article really makes you think about what you are drinking when you just get a glass of tap water. I noticed that there is a taste difference between tap and bottled or spring water and I may have figured out why now. All of the substances and medicines that end up in our water will begin to cause problems in the long run.

This article on pharmaceuticals in drinking water was quite interesting. It a real eye opener because I never thought about what’s in the water we drink, and I wish there was other solutions so we can have purified water.

This is a very interesting article. I never thought of the possibility that all of that could be in the water we drink. I wonder if the water we drink is safe. From now on, I`m going to be more careful. More people should know about this.

This article has made me think about all the pharmaceuticals I have flushed ,I did not know that they tested this on fish and they changed sex trait I can only imagine what this water is doing to humans.

Wow, I never though that by drinking water I could be putting a small dosage of a pill into my body. I do wonder how this affects the human body, and if there is a way to stop these pills from entering the drinking water. Also I saw the article said it could harm fish, well if we ate the fish could it harm us also? I loved this article and it definately made me more aware of the water I drink!

People who drink pills, should think it two times when they drink them because they are contaminating our environment and our fresh water ways. It is sad to see how the fishes are being affected by this chemical pills. It is unfortunate how this pills can change the genders of the fishes. In my opinion , we need to put a limit to the number of pills that pharmacies sell daily. By limitating the number of pills sold, we can reduce alot of the contamination of this chemicals that at the end damage our natural resources. I also think that now is the right time to tell our government of this things because as time passes, our oceans will get more contaminated and this will bring us seriously diseases.I think that our government needs to work harder on the filtration systems because is our health and lifes that are in danger. Great article Mister Fundi and thanks for alerting us of the danger that this pills bring to our environment and us.

After reading this article I never really thought about what happens when different medications are released into the environment through our natural human processes. This actually kind of worries me, and raises alot of questions like are these chemicals being released into he environment? And can it effect us? I think this is very interesting and shows how little things like this that are over looked are in fact a major factor
Influencing our environment and health.

Before i read this article, i had no idea about the pharmaceuticals in the water. I never really thought about where pharmaceuticals went after they are used. This article really does make me think about the water we use and drink. It it really safe to drink water with these pharmaceuticals in it. Studies has shown that some male fishes have turned into female after being exposed to pharmaceuticals for a long period of time. Would they have the same effect on humans too? I think that we should invest money to research and find a way to safely get rid of these pharmaceuticals. This investment would help keep the animals in the environment and give humans clean drinking water.

After reading this article I never really thought about what happens when medications are put out into the environment. This kind of scares me, and raises questions like why are these chemicals being released? can it cause health problems? Will this effect future generations? I think this is some crazy stuff and shows how little things are looked over and can cause serious issues for everyone.

This really made me thing and get worried. How can we help to not have this problem that much? Also how dangerous is this and how can we prevent them? I really don’t want to drink water with all this contamination.

They should make a treatment plant to take out that stuff if it’s actually that big of a problem to us. Also, why make pills that wouldn’t fully break down in your body? Wouldn’t that be extra money for pharmaceutical companies if they were paying to make pills and part of it was wasted because it exited the body as waste before it was fully broken down?

Well! I am appalled! I never would’ve thought that water could end up being so dangerous! I mean, i hardly drink it anyways… But still, when I do from here on out, i might think twice about it. I can’t believe fish changed gender because of this! Could that mean that in many years to come, humans could possibly have their genders swapped because of this non-sense?? Jeez oh man…
#speechless

“Some male fish have actually turned into female fish…” lmao fa real?! haha uhm other than that piece of information this article is pretty interesting. however i don’t see how we can do anything about it since the way its even being exposed is through our waste. we would either hav to make it so that our ‘BODILY WASTES” dont end up in the streams and lakes and stuff or we would just not poo and pee (which we all know is kinda far fetched). this article just makes me paranoid actually,kinda like knowing that the milk from a cow is actually mixed with puss from their utters because the machines that milk them make them “sore” lol uuuuuh and the factories dont know how to seperate the puss from the actual milk so think about what your drinking guys or not which ever make you happy

Do some research on the topic. Use google scholar to find articles that discuss this issue in details. You will be happy you opened up your thinking through your new understanding of this and other issues.

I think this article is extremely insightful. Never would I have thought that the water that I was drinking contained fragments of other people’s medication. I feel that the government should get on this immediately. Knowing the government they are most likely aware of this problem but are too lazy and/or too cheap to deal with it. I think this could possibly be one of the sources for cancer (far stretch). If a person ingests even small amounts of different unknown medications over several years, something has to happen to their body. If these fragments of medication can cause a fish to switch genders, it can most definitely cause cancerous tumors to form.

This article was fascinating! Because of sports, I drink water all day everyday, so its nice to know what I am consuming, but I never thought tha pharmesuticals would be a part of the water I drink. I’m definately looking into this more, and in the meantime buying purified water instead of drinking tap.

Wow, I have never looked at water in such a way before. I know that water is polluted, but I never thought that the actual water we drank included pharmesutical drugs. Many people drink water to live a healthier lifestyle, but by drinking pharmesutical induced water, how can that benefit you? I drink water 24/7, so I’ll definetly be looking into this, and drinking purified water.

This article is very insightful, because I never would have thought that the pharmaceuticals many people take everyday go into our water. Since I drink water daily this is not good because an abundance of people take pills for the smallest things they feel in their body. Now that I know this I might start drinking purified water also.

Reading this article was sooo weird and crazy. I had no idea that that pills we take is in our water. it scares me actually. it worries me because i drink water everyday. This encourages me to do more research into this , or investigate.

This article was very informative, I had the slightest idea that the pharmaceuticals that we all take throughout our lifetime is going into the water we drink everyday. I drink tons of water so its good that I use a purifier. You’d honestly think that water would be the last thing to worry about nowadays. In the future I’ll be sure to more aware of the medication I in take and the water I drink.

This article has a lot of good information. I got to know that all these hormonal pills could quite possibly be in the water. Me and my family drink only purified water we don’t drink from the tank or something like that. Tainted water can be dangerous for our health. Thank you for the information.

Pharmaceuticals in our drinking water? ive never thought about that, i thought the water filtration systems we had today got rid of any traces of anything that should not be in the water. The point you made about male fish changing genders in bizarre. Good thing I drink filtered water (even though there is the slightest chance that another persons meds can still be in there). Makes you think twice about what you are drinking.

I found this article to be very interesting. Although I do not believe that humans will be changing genders due to the pharmaceuticals like fish do, but it does make me wonder what all we are consuming in what is known as “water”. Come to think of it, how are we sure as to what is actually in water? All of the prescription pills and medication that people take every day never really disappear, it is just relocated thanks to sewage. The article says that some fish had been reacting to this phenomena but I believe that they are most prone to it because all of the sewage is dumped out to nearby lakes and rivers that later spread to oceans.

Joshua bronstorph
I found this article very interesting. I never would of thought that the medicines we take everyday end up in our water. also I never knew that it affects the fish. its weird how the pills n medicines never really disappear after we take them. it is really weird how some male fish have turned into female fish.

This article was very interesting to read. I didn’t think that the medicine pills could be that serious when you put it in water. I wouldn’t want to drink that water or the pill in the water because it’s not safe.

I was completely unaware that pharmaceuticals could get into our drinking water. I would’ve never even given a topic like this any thought. That being said, its very interesting to me! It is a bit scary though – to think that when i have a glass of water I am consuming all types of different unprescribed medications. Towards the end of the article where you wrote ” no wonder people can no longer stand each other” made a lot of sense. Especially, as you mentioned, all the different types of anti depresants and such that have different effects on peoples bodies and cause different symptoms. Its scary to think that in the years ahead this could become a bigger problem.

This article was very informative. It made me be more cautious of the water that i take in. Also about the pharmaceuticals that are available to us. Everything that we dump into today’s water it never goes away, it just travels somewhere else. It goes to other water units and to our fellow water creatures. the article says that some fish had been reacting to this and i think fish are not the only ones being affected by this phenomena. Tainted water is dangerous to our health and environment. Im glad i now know this information.

I didn’t even know that we had that in our water bottles and people are still drinking them. It kept me thinking of this can harm so many in so many ways. I think we should have a different water waster system so that all the waste could go in there and use it as energy. That would save a lot of money.

The article was very interesting to read about . I didn’t really think that the pharmaceuticals could get into drinking water and that it could also affect the fishes . We should all be more cautious on what we drink and how it can affect us . Overall I think this article has very good information . I got to know tainted water can be dangerous for our health .

From this article I learned that only a certain amount of medications is actually broken down into your system the rest is extracted and goes into the water system such as , rivers , oceans , lakes , and other bodies of water. This is also the water we consume and put in our systems so we are not only drinking water we are drinking antidepressants , Advil and other commonly used medications. Ways to help the pharmaceuticals in the water systems can be to make use of solar powered water pumps, and a stronger purify system. We can also have a system that detects good mineral from harmful waste and separate it from our drinking water.

I found that this article completely took me by surprise, as I’ve never contemplated the results of dumping pharmaceuticals in water. This passage is both interesting and informative, teaching me about how people inadvertently harm the environment and maybe even others. I found this information insightful, yes, but also quite paranoid. Over thinking things like this wrongly worsens peoples’ fear over how they function. Although, I do understand that this is a scientific observation and scientists must analyze and question aspects of everything. I think that the only way to prevent/spread awareness about the possible effects of pharmaceutical-dumping, is to take the time and money to further research it, then maybe diagnosing the situation with new methods of water-purification.

like many of the other people have said, this article was really interesting. I had absolutely no clue that these pills could be in the water that i was just drinking. it actually makes me kind of worried. I think to improve this, they just need to observe and research this more, and if this is harming us then we need to find an alternative,

I believe that this crisis will lead to many health problems in the future, I think we as the people drinking the water should be more informed about this current situation and work hard to do something about it. Water is a nescessity to life so we must get these pharmaceuticals out!!

this artcile makes you think about what people are really doing. Alot of things harms us because we dont really care about the environment as much. This is why we have problems such as pollution, melting of the ice bergs and global warming, and acid rain.

After reading this article I learned that only a small amount of pills and medication we take get broken down into our system the rest is extracted and is put in the same water system that we drink from. This article shows that we are not only drinking water but we are drinking antidepressants, Advil and other medications that are taking on a daily basis. Ways that we can prevent Pharmaceuticals from going into our water system is making a use of solar water pumps , or a better water system that can detect and separate good minerals from bad substances.

i learned that people who take in a lot of drugs, or just use them perscriptionly end up ejecting them all into our enviorment. therfor is affecting animals, humans and the earth. we should find a new way to clean our water so i can be safe to drink and help out the ecosystem,

The purified water that we all think we are drinking even from water bottles that claim to have their water processed and purified in some of the best water plants in America or around the world is actually not so pure as you may think, many pharmaceuticals are being dumped into some of this water we consume without our knowledge and depending on what the pill, or whatever it is that contaminated the water can have certain effects on human beings or animals that consume this water, a movement needs to start to make sure the water people are drinking is actually pure and won’t harm them in any way,

Before reading this article, I never really thought about what happens when different medications are released into the environment through our natural human processes. This actually worries me, and raises a lot of questions such as are these chemicals being released into the environment, and can it effect us? I think this is very interesting and shows how little things like this that are often times over looked are in fact a major factor influencing our environment and our health.

After reading this article, it has come to my attention that we unconsciously cause harm to our environment even if we don’t intend to. It is worrying what sort of ill effects will appear after this goes on for long. I wonder if the distillation of the contaminated water could help rid it of the contaminant. The sad truth of the matter is that even if we make people aware of the problem it will take forever to actually make an impact on this problem. It goes to show that us humans are affecting the environment in many ways by just being here and how many of are small problems are overlooked until they evolve into more noticeable ones.

Apparently pharmaceutical drugs can eventually make their way into our water system. I found it especially interesting how the frogs exposed to pharmaceuticals actually changed sexes. I recently read about a similar effect on frogs from pesticides. It’s quite scary to think that we may be putting something as harsh as pesticides into our bodies; although I suppose we do that anyway, through our fruits and vegetables…

While at first glance this is rather concerning, is it really something we need to be worried about? If the human body can only metabolize a small portion of the medications we intentionally consume, then the effects from trace amounts of the drugs in our water supply would be negligible.

Before reading this article, I knew that there were some minerals and hormones in our water. However, I did not know that it was to this extent; even though, when I look back on it, this should have been obvious. Where else would those non-absorbable chemicals end up? I do not currently think this is an issue, as, for the most part, our bodies have become accustomed to drinking and taking in all of these minerals, hormones, and chemicals. Rather, I think that it may become a large problem as we continue to develop more and more pharmaceuticals. Some pharmaceuticals are dangerous even before they are distributed in the water supply.

After reading this article, I became aware of the fact that many times our waters have unknown substances which in some cases can be harmful to ur bodies. I think a proper solution for this would be to test the waters more thoroughly for traces of any medication or any foreign substance in order to maintain the purity of water.

Wow, this has really enlightened me as to what the government can get away with leaving in our water without telling us. This was very interesting to see an i am glad that you were able to bring this to our attention. I hope that this issue gets brought to light in the near future, because i think that the public deserves to know about this.

My prior knowledge on this subject was very limited. I knew there were minerals and things to that extent in the water, however it never crossed my mind as a serious issue. I don’t know what can be done though. If sewage plants can’t remove them now, what technology or process must be invented to help remove the pharmaceuticals from our water. This was a very interesting article, and i do hope a solution is found soon.

This entry has enlightened me so much. I knew that water pollution was an issue but not of this severity. I know that technology to remove this can be quite costly, but a solution must be reached soon. The fact chemicals and minerals that are harmful enough to alter the make up of a frog are in our drinking water is terrifying and hopefully a resolution to remove it will happen.

This article was incredibly interesting. I have never before thought about how certain medicines and pharmaceuticals never actually leave our systems, but instead continue to come through by the water we drink. It seems as though many people focus on how the environment is being affected by littering, oil spills, and dumping, when actually residues and medicines are a contributing factor as well. Not many think about how the medicines they take go back into the environment, effecting it in negative ways. The only solution that I could provide, would be to possibly better the water treatment systems, so they can better cleanse the tainted water and make safer for the environment and consumption. Overall, I found this very insightful, never before had I even thought about medicines and their affects on the environment, but it makes complete sense, when obviously if it goes in your body it comes out and goes into the environment, one way or another.

This is really interesting. I never would have thought that all of those chemicals and pharmaceuticals are in our water supply. The thought has never dawned upon me and makes me question how healthy we really are. I cannot propose a solution other than filtering the water, but I highly doubt that it would accomplish anything.

This subject is very interesting to think about. I had never contemplated what happens to the medicine we take after it leaves out body, because i didn’t realize how much of it our bodies are unable to process. This is a very serious issue that our government needs to find a solution to quickly. We do not know the repercussion on the human body, but if it can cause fish to change sex, we need to find a solution before we experience the side effects.

This really opened my eyes to how deceitful the government can be to cover up important secrets such as these, which could cause the public much harm. The general public is left so unaware to the concerning details which should be in the news. The residue these medicines leave behind in tap water is very concerning and a matter which is necessary to be addressed to improve our environment and life spans. It is imperative that investigation is taken and a solution is to be found as soon as possible, as this is an incredibly threatening situation.

I found his article very informative. Never before have I thought about where the water that I drink every day has been. I never thought that pharmaceuticals could ever end up back in the water supply. It really makes sense that this could be happening and I am surprised that his issue does not have more publicity. To solve this problem, water treatment plants need to be improved so that this will not happen anymore. The water with drugs in them could be causing people harm that they don’t know about and I really hope this problem gets solved.

I would have never guessed that there were so many pollutants that we are consuming every day. The article expressed and gave light to the ignorance within America. Basically, we are consuming pills although we did not initially know and volunteered for it. That is because of the pharmaceutical companies producing an abundance of medication that may not be needed. The solution that I came up with is not necessarily getting rid of medication but incorporating organic ways of solving ones illnesses. In the history of America, we are able to see that the Native Americans were able to solve most of their diseases by using what nature provided. Although this method is what ended up killing them because they could not find a solution for the illnesses the colonists brought, I believe it’s about time we get over our overly medicated society. Actually provide a new and improved method of using nature’s solutions and stop mixing these various impurities that imitate what the body could do by itself. This solution would also mean eating foods that are not impure, this would be long and very costly process but it will lead America and the world to a longer and better future.

There should be some legislation put in place to reduce the amount of contaminants in the water. The effects are evident on animals in lakes and who knows how long it would take to be visible in humans. Maybe it is visible today because of the rates that people are being diagnosed with cancer. The price of putting in filter every where before bottling the water would be much cheaper than the price Americans would pay for medical expenses. Another solution would be to find another way of providing the same relief with a new substance.

To me this does not make sense that even going through filters that are mandatory so that our sink water doesn’t have pills in them. I think that yes there is traces of other pills in our water today that they are so minuscule that they do not take much effect to us. There are some sort of regulation that water companies have to abide by. The AWWA is a government office that assures the voice of water. The SWDA sets the restrictions on drinking water. We do not drink pills. The water we drink is safe. With the fish test the water they lived in probably did not abide by the SWDA restrictions.

no matter where you go and when you go there will always be good and bad water. Yes it is scary thinking that we are “drinking pills” but we aren’t directly drinking pills, we are drinking water that MIGHT contain some pills or some of the powder. There is not a way to know if the water in my kitchen sink has pills in it or if it is as dirty as a river or lake water. if you do not like the idea that your water in you kitchen and or bathroom sink could be unsafe, that is why they make purified water. Just go get some of that, or you could get a purify filter and use that to help save water bottles.

WHAT?!?! thats so gross! I never thought about all the perscription medications being released into the sewer. I would be very interested in seeing the long-term effects this tainted water could have on a community. I know there are filters in place to purify water-do these not clear these from the water? If not all I have to say is EWW!

I think this article makes a good point on the water systems and the water we drink or use for that matter. I think that if people are so worried about the water they use or drink, then using a filter would benefit them. I also think that if it has not harmed people to do, then how will it affect us in the future? Everyone needs water to survive on this earth, so people drink the water from the sinks and take showers when needed. I have not heard of any situations of people getting sick by the cause of water they have. I think filtering water can only do so much and there is not necessarily a way to make sure no one is drinking pills that were not prescribed to them through their water. Yes, I do agree that it is gross… But we have to drink it because we need water. When they do figure out a way to make sure it is healthier and better for us, then I am sure everyone will change until then the closest people are going to get is filtering their faucets and any water they do decide to drink.

I think we should invest money in water filtration so that the water we drink and use daily is cleaner but not a lot of money or time because the water isn’t as dirty as it is in other places like Africa. In the US there haven’t been any huge cases of a good amount of people dying from dirty water.

I thought the article was very interesting and scary to know how many everyday things such as water have different types of medication in them. This is an important thing to be educated on because it effects essential things that we need to survive. I think that while we do have a pretty efficient way of treating water, it would definitely be beneficial to try and better it so some of these chemicals are eliminated during treatment. Consuming some types of wastes in water can be potentially harmful, or have no effect but creating a system that completely purifies the water is the best way to go.

This article is very interesting. However i agree with the author of this article cause i would like to drink water and not have to worry about pill that arent prescribed to me being in my water. I also agree with the author of this article because some pills that are in the water may not be healthy for certain people that are forced to drink water on a regular day basis .

I found this article to be very interesting. Even though I personally do not think humans are going to be switching their gender in response to the pharmaceuticals like fish do, this article interests me because I think about how that could happen. it makes me wonder what is inside this “water” that we are consuming each and everyday. how are we sure as to what is actually in water and is it really pure? All of the prescription pills and medication that people take every day never really disappear, it is just relocated thanks to sewage. That is scary because we never know where they might end up.

Wow!! This really surprised me. I would have never thought of any of his until I read that. I didn’t realize that all of that stuff was in our waters. It’s scary to think that we think we know what we are always eating and drinking. Little do we know we have no idea. It’s scary to hear that all of these particular particles and pills are in the clear glass of water we drink. I think there should be a way to make it completely purified and nothing questionable. I enjoyed this article 🙂

Before reading this article, I never really thought about what happens when different medications are released into the environment through our natural human processes. This actually worries me, and raises a lot of questions such as are these chemicals being released into the environment, and can it effect us? I think this is very interesting and shows how little things like this that are often times over looked are in fact a major factor influencing our environment and our health.

Honestly, I’ve never even thought of how pills and such would have such a great effect on the environment. It’s amazing that something as potentially harmful as this hasn’t made the news yet. That raises an interesting question, has it been purposefully made quiet, or do environmentalists not consider this to be a big enough risk to the environment?

Pills and Potions. I’m glad that you wrote this article because it will bring to people’s attention the effect that environmental neglect has on all of us. Environmental legislation is the last to pass because people big businesses ignore the poor affects that it has on our health. There are always important matters to be discussed, especially now with the second wave civil rights movement ongoing. It is always important, however, to be environmentally conscious. Just as our body produces new skin cells daily, making exfoliation a must for good skin, so does the earth. Whether we put our trash into blue bins or the Mother Earth will recycle itself and as human beings we are in that recycling process. The buck begins and ends with us. This article raises alarms that the American public needed to hear years ago. Thank you.

This article presented a concern that I have never considered before. With this issue being a possible threat in the future, I wonder about people with medicine allergies, or if some of the illnesses today that require medication are caused by the medication in drinking water. This issue is unsettling, but proper awareness and research can most likely (and hopefully) develop a safe solution.

This article was very interesting and I’m really surprised and not happy to see that they are releasing prescription medication into our drinking water. I think that we should use tax money on a water filtration system that could clean out the water but that would only be a start because of all the water bottles that are already made and other places that sell water that we can’t purify

this article does well to inform the general public about what we are putting into our body. I feel that with a little time and a little money we could do a way better job on getting some of these toxins out of our body’s and our water.

This article opened my eyes. Most people typically never think past drinking a cup of tap water and really, shouldn’t have to. Our government has made us feel like we shouldn’t have to question them which has become a problem. Harmful chemicals cannot go straight into our water. There should be a seperate place to dispose of medications rather than a human beings drinking water.

I had never heard of this situation before I read this article. Many things crossed my mind while I read but the major one in my opinion is that these pharmaceuticals are far from being high enough concentrations to show effects in human bodies. Studies show that pharmaceuticals found in treated water are only .05µg/l or one millionth of a gram. I don’t know about you but I am pretty much sure that an amount so microscopic will not have the slightest effect on humans for a long time, given our complex immune systems and tolerance to medicines. Even though signs of abnormalities have shown up in fish, does not mean these pharmaceuticals will have the same effect on humans because although fish do have immune systems to fight diseases, they are no where near as advanced as the ones found in mammals. These particles only show up in fish because of how long they have been exposed to the water. (We could eat tons of fish and still not experience the effect it has on them.) I believe that there is a way to purify our drinking water to the point where our environment could intake as much as possible and still remain unharmed. We have come a long way in the past years with inventions and technology that there is no reason why we can not accomplish this as well. Also, our generation could compile tons of information and experiments about this but it will not change the fact that we will most likely be long gone before this problem is completely solved. Although we will continue to study this topic I do not think it is anything to stress about.

I haven’t been aware of this situation but it seems like a fasinating inquiry. It proposes questions like if workers at membrane bioreactor (MBR) sewage treatment plan are aware that medications are effecting the water treatment processes or even traditional sewage treatment workers then, why haven’t they said anything about it? Since the half lifes are so long, it should take a long time for the effects of the pharmaceuticals to effect the human population. Although, it effects fish presently, which should effect humans who eat fish, i don’t think this is a major concern to us presently. If you say that the pharmaceuticles effect water, then you could also say that pharmaceuticles effect tons of things we do, like when we wash our hands, take a shower, etc. We are exposed to pharmaceuticles regardless if we drink water or not. Since we are exposed to these types of medications daily, we should hypothetically be immune to some of these medications through our immune system. Regardless, fish have a simple body structure, which leds to being prone to diseses, medications, etc. I think it’s very informative but I don’t think it will have a effect on us presently as stated before. I think it’s a good article because it makes people aware of the concern that medications are in water and it’s about something that could effect us daily.

Your article made me think twice about drinking water that maybe effecting me and others. Knowing water is not really pure but contaminated with non prescribed pills. I’m going to be more careful with what I drink.

This is a very intriguing topic, but I’d have to agree with Toni and others who commented. You all point out some very important views. But regardless of drinking water or not we are still exposed to pharmaceuticals. It may become a bigger threat but if we’d like to make a change we would have to figure out a way to dispose of our medications better. It still makes me wonder why the government hasn’t done anything about this, I have not heard about any experiments or research about tainted waters. Surprisingly it does change my view a bit, but avoiding water is not a good option. Our government just needs to invest in research.

I’ve never really thought about what happens to the medication as soon as our bodies are done with them. I learned that a way our bodies got rid of this unneeded medication is by getting it out from our waste. Maybe we should come up with a new filtration system that is still safe but strong enough to clean out the unwanted medications from the water.

Ive never really thought about what happens to pills after they have been flushed down the toilet or have gone or dissolved in our bodies….: like do they just stay there ? But i agree with victoria with her comment and also made me think about it a little more about with the water problem and stuff cause it has me thinking what are we reallt drinking

I learned the scientist have issues with not taking out the pharmaceuticals, and that we struggle and hide the issue of the pills and medicine in our water.
We have to go back to traditional living and using traditional medicines. We have to stop polluting the air and use the rain water, just let the world heal on it own. But you cant heal a burn with heat. You have relieve the pressure all pressure.

My opinion I personally know that the gov’t does not care about the people as they use to, they use us as consumers to keep feeding there pockets so, I am not surprise. Its another issue that needs to be addressed by the people because the Gov’t isn’t going to do anything about instead make it worse.

I thought this was an interesting article because I had no clue about this. I learned that old pills and prescriptions end up in rivers, streams, and the water that we drink. They end up here once they come out of our bodies and are flushed down the toilet. I believe that people should be more cautious about this and that something should be done. Like you had stated, I would also prefer my water without prescribed pills in it.

Whenever I take a sip of what I think is clean water I usually don’t think twice, but this article made me realize that the water I am drinking may not be so clean. I thought this article was very interesting because as an athlete I take lots of ibuprofen to help with pain and soreness. I think that there should be studies conducted specifically for this issue and once a solution is discovered, there should be laws and regulations to prevent destroying our water and marine life.

I learned that whenever I take a sip of water, I could be drinking pharmaceutical medications that aren’t prescribed to me. You are always told never to take prescription drugs that do not belong to you so with this, we could all be ingesting small amounts of these drugs that could potentially overtime have negative effects on the human body. I think that scientists need to figure out a way to filter out the traces of these drugs in the water because, if the levels keep rising, we might as well be taking the medication. There should be laws made to make sure that the companies who filter the water get all of the medication out. In my opinion, I would never want to take drugs that aren’t prescribed to me so the thought of drinking trace amounts of them is horrifying.

This article is very interesting. I’m glad you wrote this article because this can bring attention to the people. This really surprised me. I never thought of any of this until I read the article. I learned that medications have end up in rivers, streams, and the water we drink. Knowing that medications are in the water we drink is scaring. This made me think twice about drinking water that can be effecting me and others, and something should be done. I think we should find a better filtration system to keep our water fresh.

I’ve learned that no matter what i drink unless its some pure untapped glacier water its going to have some sort of pharmeceutical. By ingesting small trace amounts of these drugs we could actually be weakening our immune system. I feel that this would be an interesting field of study but we should just say that our scientists should figure a way to solve the problem as Olivia Milam stated. Olivia also said that we need to make laws for the companies that filter our water when in fact it is our own government who filters the water. The government would never place laws that would raise expenses. That is why nothing will ever be done about it. If something was to be done i would suggest exposing the water to light radiation to kill off water ever is in it. This shouldnt be harmful to the average human because in all honesty, every minute we are on our electronics we expose ourselves to more and more radiation.

In this article I learned about how the water is tainted with medicine. I had never given this much thought before, but now that it has been brought to my attention I find it very interesting. I believe that the government should try and put more money into fixing problems like this. I believe that this should be brought to more peoples attention, instead of just being “swept under the rug”. I will not stop drinking water even though now I know more of what it is tainted with, but in the future I will be more conscious of what I am drinking.

I found that this article completely took me by surprise, as I’ve never contemplated the results of dumping pharmaceuticals in water. This passage is both interesting and informative, teaching me about how people inadvertently harm the environment and maybe even others. I found this information insightful, yes, but also quite paranoid. Over thinking things like this wrongly worsens peoples’ fear over how they function. Although, I do understand that this is a scientific observation and scientists must analyze and question aspects of everything. I think that the only way to prevent/spread awareness about the possible effects of pharmaceutical-dumping, is to take the time and money to further research it, then maybe diagnosing the situation with new methods of water-purification.

After reading this article I learned how dangerous our current water supply is today. With all of the medicine that we consume daily, not even to account for annually, we are exposing our bodies to so many chemicals that can harm us later on in life. In order to solve this dilemma, I believe we need our environmental activists and engineers to develop a filtration machine that will properly eliminate all of these medicines that are naturally creeping into our water supply. This will help make the water become more pure, so that it’ll be safer to drink. In my opinion, this is a very important issue because it will effect the way we will be living several years down the road. I believe something should be done to help save not only our lives, but the animals in our environment around us as well.

i learned that there are alot of pharmaceuticals in water and its can we dont know what it can happen to us , but we do know what it can do to fish. We should not replenish sewege water thats nasty and if it does harmful things to us thats also worse. I kinda have a different understanding of water now.

i didnt know pharmaseuticals can polute our water like this. people try to love healthier lives and everyone drinks water. Now theres drugs that can hurt us. As a person drinking water we should filter out water so it can be cleaned out thoroughly. I feel really different about the water I drink because now my life can he in danger.

This article shows us the important idea of having prescription medications,drugs, may have an affect on the environment. It has appeared to have already affected fish, some dying and in a few cases, a male fish turning female. We need to take precautions so that pharmaceuticals don’t end up in our waters, or we need to at least find a chemical that we can use to take the pharmaceuticals out and keep our waters safe for us to use afterwards. Personally, I’m not too sure if this is something we have to worry about ourselves as of right now, considering nothing drastic happened to humans because of this, but we should at least keep our eye on it to see if there is anything affecting us besides the fish. ~Nathalie V., 16

This article took me by a complete surprise . While reading I learned how dangerous our water really is and how us humans and the animals are taking many chemicals daily without our knowledge . To solve this problem something ( device ) needs to be created to correctly eliminate the expired pills and other medications. My opinion there should be more knowledge of these kinds of situations people are harming them self and animals without them knowing. This can not only hurt us in the long run but can hurt the animals.

I was really surprised with this article, I never thougth about that. Now I will think more when I drink water. I think that the scientist and people in general should be more aware about what goes into water because it’s affecting our world.

I thougth that this article was very surprising because i never thougth about that. I learned that medecine is in our water and I think that we should be paying more attention to what is going into our water if we want clean water in the future.

I learned how unsafe it is to drink water because of all the medications it may contain . Even drinking bottled water is unsafe . Something needs to be done about this situation because it’s not only hurting humans but animals too. You never know what kinds of medications could be in your water and that’s very scary . There is something needed to dissolve medicines after they have been flushed or thrown away .

I learned how dangerous that it is to drink water because all of the medications found in drinking water that can’t be removed and the threat that it poses to our health in the future. It says that bottled water is also unsafe for drinking. Something needs to be created that can dissolve these medicines that can make drinking water safe for drinking. I think that it is very scary because the water that I drink most likely contains medications. Something needs to be done.

This is a very interesting and well thought out entry Mr. Fundi! We should really look into a way to purify our waterways of these toxic chemicals before they start to take an effect on our bodies as well.

This is a very interesting and informing entry Mr. Fundi! I learned how dangerous it can be for our bodies if we don’t soon find a way to purify all of the toxic medications from out waterways. If we don’t do something soon, it could cause another epidemic.

The article states that, although the introduction of pharmaceuticals into the water system is ongoing, not unusual, and highly dangerous, there is no legislation in America combatting the negative effects of this poisonous process. I learned that, although millions of people take medicines, the way they dispose of them is hardly responsible. By dumping unused pills and expired medication into the toilet or the drain, it unknowingly hurts the environment and causes severe damage to the ecosystem. We know that the pill contamination hurts the environment, but it also hurts us because, as Dr. Fundi found out through his visit, there are not many ways to filter pharmaceuticals out of the water at water filtration plants. In the fall semester of this school year, I went around my neighborhood collecting expired pharmaceuticals in order to safely dispose of them at specified locations. I enjoyed this article because it spreads awareness of such a dangerous phenomenon that occurs in our society today, and I hope we read more articles like this.

I learned about how dangerous something as simple as drinking water can be if we do not put forth the effort to remove contaminants as well as making sure no more seep into our water system. I think more education systems should be implemented for this issue so that everyone can know the dangers of contaminating our drinking water. Excellent article!

Admittedly, the pharmaceuticals are in minute concentrations right now. However, since none of the water treatment plants can remove them from from our water supply–we are running the risk of their concentration increasing over the next few years to toxic levels. that sentence got my attention because it is toxic. we need to watch other more in what medications we take. in my opinion I think this is bad because we can be in danger.

I think that this is a really great experience for our life. It made us can learn about what kind of medicine are in our water, and if we really want clean water, we should really paying attendance on this.

After reading this article,it makes me NOT want to drink water. The government should really party attention to this and should do something about it. But in all honesty,I think that this article should be spread towards the public because they ought to know what’s in the water that they’re drinking even if they think that the bottled water that they drink is mainly pure and free of lead and such

In this article, I learned about the countless dangers of just drinking “plain water”. Articles, like this one, discussing such a grave matter like the concentration of pharmaceuticals in our water, should be a subject of more concern in our society. Personally, I didn’t know about pharmaceuticals in our water. Due to this, more awareness should be brought upon this subject.

This is a very interesting article. I never really thought about medication in human waste. I know you are not supposed to dispose of medication through the sewer. I guess more research needs to be done to find ways to eliminate medication in our water system. I think it is scary to think about drinking someone else’s medication.

Prior to reading this article I kind of knew that there were some things in the water because I knew that the sewage system could not completely filter what comes through our faucets, but I did not realize that there were pharmaceuticals in it. It is a scary idea to have dozens of unprescribed pills flowing through our water, and it’s hard to filter out these tiny particles. Brita filters can’t be used as a solution to completely block out the pharmaceuticals, it won’t completely clean everything out, Brita filters could not even protect against the water problems in Flint Michigan regarding the lead in the water. We should try to come up an idea that can start within the sewer system and also the community to try to prevent these pharmaceuticals and other dangerous chemicals from entering the water. There should also be some sort of system from companies for the consumers to use to throw away their empty products and they can dispose of it in a healthy manner so that it does not end in up in our water. By bring light to this idea more people will be informed, and will try to work together so that we can lead longer healthier lives.

Prior to reading this article I kind of knew that there were some things in the water because I knew that the sewage system could not completely filter what comes through our faucets, but I did not realize that there were pharmaceuticals in it. It is a scary idea to have dozens of pills flowing through our water, and it’s hard to filter out these tiny particles. Brita filters can’t be used as a solution to completely block out the pharmaceuticals, it won’t completely clean everything out, Brita filters could not even protect against the water problems in Flint Michigan regarding the lead in the water. We should try to come up an idea that can start within the sewer system and also the community to try to prevent these pharmaceuticals and other dangerous chemicals from entering the water. There should also be some sort of system from companies for the consumers to use to throw away their empty products and they can dispose of it in a healthy manner so that it does not end in up in our water. By bring light to this idea more people will be informed, and will try to work together so that we can lead longer healthier lives.

From this article, I learned that the water we drink can contain medicines like pills for example. They should have more regulation towards these sewage plants. They should be able to have more control of what goes in and what comes out. I believe that it isn’t right. They know they contain these medicines but they still distribute the water. Many people dont know about this so they are believing that they are drinking plain, pure water.

From reading this article, I’ve learned that the water us humans drink today may contain some chemicals like medicines, pills, etc. When we use those types of medicines we dispose of it when we use the restroom so it is in our urine. I feel like they should have more order in the sewage plant making sure that good stuff can come in and the wasteful stuff don’t mix with the water. Making sure that the water is cleaned from chemicals. Students taking science classes or for whoever is concerned about what goes on in the modern day science should be recommend this website because it is a lot of useful information that is contained.

I think this article educates the American People about harmful chemicals being leaked into our government. This problem most recently surfaced in Flint, Michigan. I think we need to Better fund research into providing better filtration systems for our public and make organizations like the FDA and EPA better funded and more powerful to combat these types of problems

I also agree with the fact that i wouldn’t either take un-prescribed pills from the water, or any bottled water. I am now aware of the risk i am going though when drinking water even if i think its filtered enough , it may not be. The government needs to do something about this, and more people need to be aware of this. They should have more regulations about this in sewer plants. If we can , we need better fund research into providing better filtration systems. Our public needs to change these damages being to done animals and humans

I have actually wondered about this before and I can not completely remember why but there is one thing I do wonder. I wonder why the government has never mentioned this or tried to fix the problem, this is really horrifying to the health population. We have studies showing the affects of prescribed drugs in the water that have the potential of changing the sex of a fish, why has nothing been done about it? And to know that this is in the water we drink daily is also horrifying, we are taking in drugs that are from other people, if that is not scary enough I don’t know what is! It is almost like the drugs that help us are also killing us, it makes almost no sense at all and is just completely terrible. I would wish to have a solution to such a problem but I am not educated enough in this type of field of pharmaceuticals but I can say that the government should filter water more than it is already being filtered to help decrease the amount of medicine in our daily water. And I will also be fair to the wild life, they don’t deserve to die because of poorly disposed medicine, there should be a better way to deal with disposed medicine, and with what is happening now the people that are responsible of dealing with expired medicine should realize this situation as well.

from the pharmaceutical perspective there isn’t really another valid option as to where to dispose of the chemicals, but the scientists should have been trying to figure out a eco friendly way to dispose of all the medications. The idea of how much harm these medications could do to the environment over time is worrying. i wonder if the plants are having alarming effects or will be having of an unknown period of time. we should find a way to neutralize the pharmaceutical drugs so that way they would be safer to dispose of them.

I think this article brings up a pretty good point. It’s pretty scary to think that unsubscribed pills could be in the water that we are drinking right now, even from the stores. That could lead to health issues after being exposed to it for too long. It may a also make people more irritable from the side effects. It also might make animals sick and make our food lower quality. I think there should definitely be more being done about this.

I honestly have never thought about this. I necessarily didn’t think of how this would affect us but now that I read this I see how much of an importance their is on pharmaceuticals. Now after reading this I question myself what chemicals we are drinking and maybe also because of that many diseases may come from it. The fact that the government isn’t doing anything towards it to help the environment is not right because this may cause more harm than we already haven’t noticed. But I think its very important to know about this and try to question our helpful healthy chemicals. Maybe there could be a way to help all chemicals balance. This may help us and our environment be better and help us answer our questions on how this could stop harming.

Thanks so much for this article Mr. Fundi. I learned a lot about how medicines can be bad for your system and how lots of antibodies and pharmaceutical products are still in our bloodstream today. I do have some questions to ask about the subject though.

interesting Article I do think that it is a problem and made me question now every time I drink water and we aren’t safe in bottle water too I think scientist should find a way to stop this because in a future as it is now it can be worse and make new desises

from reading the article I actuclly learned myself that the pills we take end up in the water we drink everyday. just the thought that we are drinking a;l these type of medication while drinking something we need to survive. The government I feel should show effort in trying to solve this problem. Although it may not effect at that moment, in the long run it may cause many different problems for you. I feel the problem could be solved

This article was pretty interesting and it was radical. When I was reading the article it scared me about the hormonal, antidepressant, and other types of medication in the drinking water. Also there are no legislations to deal with pharmaceuticals in the drinking water and or the water that flows into the streams, rivers and lakes. The solution about this problem is drink filter water and or drink bottle water.

Great article Mr. Fundi. While I agree that medication infiltrating our waterways is a large problem, I do not necessarily believe it is the largest environmental issue facing our generation. Issues such as water usage, deforestation, and an increased number of extinct species have a much larger impact on the world as a whole.

With that being said, it is very interesting to see the effects that these medications are having on the environment. Researchers in Colorado have discovered that increased estrogen levels in the waterways are causing male fish to develop female sex cells. This is caused by people flushing their unused medication down the toilet and having them end up in the rivers and lakes. This problem will continue to haunt us until we can figure out a way to create biodegradable medication or a way to decompose the medication we already use.

I had no idea that pills that we take could get into our water. I think this generation needs to be the one to try and create legislation to deal with these problems. Also we need to take action to try and find a solution to be able to filter out these pharmaceuticals and other drugs in our waters. I think if we can come up with a solution to this it could help save many lives going forward. Once the government begins to help out with this, the problem could very well be solved.

Very fascinating article Mr. Fundi! Before reading this article, I had none to little knowledge about the impact that pharmaceuticals had on our environment as a whole. With living in a completely different situation than families in Tanzania. I found it eye opening with all the profound research you have found and put together to create more opportunities for them.

However, moving forward I would like to see the significant impact that the research brings to the table. Sooner or later, people will have the growth of knowledge in this area to give solutions and solve this growing problem. Not many people are completely aware to this problem. So advice, go outside and spread the word for this kind program to grow more and take down this devastating problem.

Reading this article has caused me to look at the quantity of water I drink differently. I went from thinking the more water I drink the better but now I know that is not the case. I’ve learned that the water us humans drink today may contain some chemicals like medicines, pills, etc. When we use those types of medicines we dispose of it when we use the restroom so it is in our urine. I feel like they should have more order in the sewage plant making sure that good stuff can come in and the wasteful stuff don’t mix with the water. Making sure that the water is cleaned from chemicals.

I thought the article was very interesting. One reason I thought it was so interesting is because it was not really an issue I thought about. I think the fact that it is an issue that not many people really think about is a huge part of the problem. To fix something, you must have people researching and thinking about the issue. You can see how this is true since there is no legislation to fix the issue.

Another thing I liked about the article was how there was scientific data used to back up the claims on the negative affects of pharmaceuticals in water. I found the effects of pills on fish surprising, and now I am actually interested about the issue. It will be very hard to fix the problem, but I think it defiantly could happen.

After reading this article I was surprised that the government has not done anything about this issue. It is completely dangerous for humans to be drinking water with pharmaceuticals in it. What scared me most is that day by day more pharmaceuticals are being made and they are becoming stronger. Also taking unsubscribed pharmaceuticals can change someone’s attitude or actions. It can also be possible that many people are drug addicts due to drinking water with a lot of pharmaceuticals in it. Once thinking about this you can conclude that just about everything has pharmaceuticals in it because mostly everything requires water. However I do think filtering water through items people can buy can help solve this issue but obviously the government filtering is not helping so does it really matter? This is a great article that has made me think about a lot of issues today in society.

This article was very interesting to me and was also very surprising. I had no idea that this was an issue but after reading the article, it makes sense that it is. Every year more and more medications are being created to help people with different illnesses. This means that each year more and more medications are being put in our water supply. No legislation has been passed to prevent this from happening which means that it is up to the people to make sure that this issue gets attention. That is the only way that it is going to be solved.

In order for this problem to get more attention more people need to realize that it is a problem. This starts at the local level. If more articles like the one that is featured above are publicized in the paper or even talked about more than locals can be educated about it. Once the lower level is educated about this problem then it can then be called to the attention of the government. The United States is a country that strives on the idea of freedom of the people. This issue can easily be solved if the people declare that they want their to be more restrictions on our water.

I found this article very interesting. I always knew that in certain cities, they add various chemicals to the drinking water in order to provide health benefits (Such as Fluoride for most of the us, or Sulfur in parts of Florida), but I always assumed that as a nation we were able to keep all of what we wanted in and all of what we did not out, but your article has shed light on this issue that will only affect our society more as time goes on. My question is, might the problem in filtering our drinking water be leading to the rise in the number of bacteria that are resistant to our modern antibiotics?

Before reading this article, I never knew about what really happens to the medication I take. It was really surprising to see that pretty much, majority of the components in my medication, don’t truly get absorbed in my body. This makes me think that it’s sort of pointless to take medication. Even worse, the rest of the medication is discarded into our environment which will have a drastic effect on it in the future.

Furthermore, not only has the environment, become affected, but this has also taken a toll on our fish populations. The biggest problem about this isn’t the influence it has on the environment or species, but the fact that most people in the world don’t know about this issue. More people in the world need to know about this issue because it ultimately will affect us in the near future if we want something done about this issue. I agree, I don’t want to continue drinking water that I thought was safe but actually has potentially harmful pill ingredients. I would like to live a nice, long healthy life… if possible.

I am scared to drink water now. Not really but it does sound scary. We always use a water purification system in our house. Thank you Mr. Fundi for bringing this to my attention. You are a really good teacher

I found this article to be extremely interesting yet frightening at the same time. Prior to reading this article I had no idea there were traces of prescription pills in the water we drink everyday! It obviously has some lasting health effects that don’t seem to be very good but it’s scary because scientists haven’t looked into this problem and prioritized it as much as they need to. After reading that it has effected male fish by turning them into female fish really interested me because that is so crazy and I have never heard of the happening! While I don’t think humans will switch genders due to the water, it is still a scary thing- who knows the other health risks. The last part of this article that shocked me was that the traces of pills are also found in bottled waters which are usually a safe alternative to ensure the water is filtered properly. Very interesting article.

The issue of pharmaceuticals polluting our waters is not actively harming us today, but with the study showing a difference in the fish population it does raise some concerns. It makes sense, the whole issue. This type of pollution really becomes intimidating when you bring hormones into the picture. According to an article from the Harvard health website, the amount of testosterone put into our water from one use of a testosterone cream would take much longer naturally occur. One of the main things that is being fought right now are nursing homes. Unlike hospitals, which have special disposal systems for their pharmaceuticals, nursing homes do not. They simply flush any medicine that is left unused. With all the people, in all the nursing homes, in all of America, that flushed medicine really adds up, and unlike the percentage of medicine that our bodies simply do not absorb, this is a variable to the problem that can easily be fixed.

I thought the article was very interesting and especially because this issue is not something that affects my life. Most people in America do not think about this because our lives are so simple and clean. For people who live in villages or towns where the major source of water is from a river. That river needs to be clean and free of issues so the villagers can remain healthy.

If this issue is not fixed, the populations of the animals that live in these waters are also in jeopardy. One thing about this issue that makes it even worse is the lack of attention it gets. We live in a country where news spreads like wildfire and i have never heard of this issue until you brought it up. In order for this issue to end, we need to research it and clean it up. Again, interesting article Mr. Fundi, if you create another article to follow this one, please let us know so we can continue to be updated on this issue.

Before I read the article, I some knowledge of the possibility that our drinking water was contaminated; whether it tasted funny or looked cloudy. Although, I had no knowledge whatsoever that we were drinking the prescribed medicines of other people. This is a very eye-opening and slightly scary thought to deal with on a daily basis. The fact about the fish changing genders really blew my mind. I can only imagine the harmful things our drinking water is doing to our body.

Since we usually drink water to cleanse our body from toxins and to flush out our system, it’s shocking to hear that the thing we thought was the healthiest thing is for us, no longer is. I believe the government should supply more money for funds to help evaluate and decontaminate our water. We should have access to purification systems and other things of that nature. This was a very impacting article. I’m glad you took the time to inform us!

After reading this it really made me think about how bad it really is. All the chemicals and pharmaceutical companies who let this happen. Something needs to be done . These people who need clean water are getting the complete opposite and it’s terrible for them. This is a great article thanks Mr fundi!

I have known some what of this information, that our water system is not the best and that it shouldn’t be trusted. I wasn’t aware of there being pharmaceuticals in our drinking water. The people who are responsible or very much aware of this problem haven’t done anything to help because of the government. The government only wants us for our money no matter if its beneficial to our world or not , they might generally care ( only for money) but not personally.

The scientist who work on our water system know about this and are most likely still drinking the water along with us. They could have already found a better alternative for themselves, but there could also be scientist who are trying to help but could be limited to their sources because of the government or there isn’t money to help treat the water for what they really need to fix the situation that is drastically increasing along towards the future. The could have a huge effect on everything, humans living crops growing ,and nature in general. I wish there was a better way for this to dealt with but it seems that no one can really trust what the government is doing or telling us.

To be honest I’ve never spent too much time thinking about what we actually drink when we drink water To me it was just plain water! Coming from Italy I noticed the difference of flavor between the water here in America and the one I drunk in Italy. Here it kind of taste like clorine. This article made me think a lot.

This article brought up a plethora of information that I had not previously thought about. I was unaware of how untrustworthy out water systems were. The fact that so many fish are affected by the pharmaceuticals is a sad thought. However, a way to shrink this problem could be lowering the amount of harmful things we, as humans, put in our bodies. Things that are high in chemicals and not natural should not be used frequently or at all. This would not only help the wildlife, but humans also. The less products used the better.
Personally, i have washed soaps and beauty products down the drain without thinking where it actually went. With the information presented to me in this article, I will most definitely think twice before using an unnecessary product or pharmaceutical. People in society today have little regard to the amount of waste they produce. Many people throw things away without thinking where their waste may end up. Once they put their trash out on the streets, they think that is the end of it. However, that is very wrong. We now have an excessive amount of trash in landfills that could have been recycled. With an increase in education of the harmful outcomes of these things, hopefully in the future this will be less of a problem.

I would agree with you also on how America should remove the pharmaceuticals being put in our water. Because sickness occurs every single day from different people all around the world, and therefore only a small portion of the medication is ingested, and the rest is liberated onto our environment. That’s unacceptable. They should help remove it, to keep our environment clean and the people alive. Water’s delicious and is important to our health, so we should be able to consume it without no worries.

Before reading this article I known that the water we drink was once dirty water and went through a process to become clean/purified; but during that process some things could be missed such as pharmaceuticals. I’ve never thought that the medication we drink will be in our drinking water and the government isn’t doing anything about it. Especially if it could affect us in the long run. If I am not taking medication, I do not want to be drinking medication that is in the water that i do not know about and is not prescribed to me.
Imagine what this would do to your body if the pharmaceuticals in your drinking water gets higher? We would all turn out like the fishes, the pharmaceuticals in the water turned the fishes from male to female. If it can do this to the fishes it probably will do the same to us humans in the long run when the pharmaceuticals in our drinking water gets higher. We should put this to notice to the government so they can take this seriously and try to fix this problem because nobody wants to be drinking medication in there water that might affect them sooner or later.

This article has really opened my mind. In the past, I’ve never realized that the pharmaceuticals humans use can actually end up in our water. Pharmaceuticals are used in almost every country, so this is a worldwide problem that can impact anyone. Many people might think that they won’t be impacted by them, because of how the effects to humans have not been well documented. However (as the article states), millions of people are using pharmaceuticals each day, and it won’t take long for he concentrations to increase. The government should be processing plans to filter the pharmaceuticals before this problem gets out of hand.When the effects start to become more apparent, it might be too late to do something.
The water might be safe to drink now, but in the future, anything can happen. It is true that in order to be affected, a person must take a full dose of any pharmaceutical, and it is not yet possible to get a full dose though just a few glasses of water. However, in the future, it might become possible if more people continue the use of pharmaceuticals. As the article states, these pharmaceuticals can soon increase in concentration and the effects will then start to show. For now, even if people aren’t being impacted, organisms that live in the water, or even drink the water are being affected. Most of these organisms are smaller than humans, so just a small dose can affect them. It the pharmaceuticals have enough power to make fish switch genders, then we can only imagine the effects they will have on humans.

The issue is revolved around many health hazards, but predominately on the two factors of ignorance and carelessness. No government appears to be obligated to fix their mistakes simply because there are very few people that are aware of the situation. Those very government officials have the people believe that all is well and that there is no need for panic; that every glass of water put up to our lips are nothing but the purest of drops. Change is not occurring because we believe there is no need for it. For all matters, especially those of our health, no act of change can become existent if one doesn’t take a stand.
Carelessness derives from the belief that any serious matter is nothing but a mere mistake that will just disappear. This is precisely what any and all persons believe, and its not only affecting our health, but also the environment that we feed and blossom from. I’ve always been a firm believer that where there is water, there is life, and that is exactly what needs to be apparent in all minds. Water is a major source of life, and it’s a resource that is essential for our survival. The more we know, the better we can act. The more we believe, the more wonders we can achieve.

I never thought about the fact that the medication we take would eventually come out, obviously I knew it would once I thought about it but it isn’t a topic that I think about. This brings up the matter of what happens to it,which is what you bring up in the post. The fact that the sewage treatment plant can clean the water extremely well, but leave prescription drugs in the water completely baffles me. After I read this post I did some research on prescription drugs.

It turns out that every year 4.5 million people (just in U.S.) are rushed to the emergency room for side effects caused by prescription drugs. If you add in all of the people who are allergic to certain drugs, then the idea that those people could be taking drugs that they are allergic to can really get you worried about the water that you are consuming. When you think about the fact that every country in the world has people who consume prescriptions, than you realize the scale that this problem is on. I am surprised that this issue has not really been broadcasted to the public even though it is such a large issue. It really makes you think of all of the other issues that we do not know about.

This article really showed me how me how ignorant ive been around what i put inside my body and gives a new light on how our goverement doesnt give any signs of care in pharmaceuticals ending up effecting our water breathing friends and we as people should really take the time out and make a difference in that.

I find it crazy that the government doesn’t care enough to check the water before sending it off to the population. Although it may not be a visible and crucial issue yet, there obviously has to be some kind of negative effects on people unknowingly drinking prescriptions that their bodies aren’t meant to take. I find it hard to believe that there is no way to check the water or somehow screen it before sending it off and labeling it as “purified” when in reality it is not. I’m sure there are certain medicines have chemicals that are not overly hazardous to the average person, but the water needs to be screened for chemicals in these prescriptions that would unhealthy for the consumption of the population.

Before I read the article, I some knowledge of the possibility that our drinking water was contaminated; whether it tasted funny or looked cloudy. Although, I had no knowledge whatsoever that we were drinking the prescribed medicines of other people. This is a very eye-opening and slightly scary thought to deal with on a daily basis. The fact about the fish changing genders really blew my mind. I can only imagine the harmful things our drinking water is doing to our body.

Since we usually drink water to cleanse our body from toxins and to flush out our system, it’s shocking to hear that the thing we thought was the healthiest thing is for us, no longer is. I believe the government should supply more money for funds to help evaluate and decontaminate our water. We should have access to purification systems and other things of that nature. This was a very impacting article. I’m glad you took the time to inform us!

I am stocked and disappointed that the government has not even attempted to resolve this problem. Not a lot of people realize the negative impacts caused on the environment. People just don’t realize how or where the liquids they poor down the drain go. Is there a solution to removing the pharmaceuticals from the treated water? I believe it’s terrible that people take over the counter drugs when the person really doesn’t need it. I believe that the government should take a better approach towards what people do. There are many problems in the world impacting the environment today that we don’t know about. I’m very doubtful that this problem will be resolved any time soon.

This article is fascinating, and is extremely informative. Not many people realize that the pharmaceuticals that we intake can have a great impact on our bodies and how well they can be kept/maintained. It is not very well known that the toxins in the pharmaceuticals can still be present and harmful when they are flowed through a waterway, and the populations do not think much of it. People do not realize that the leftovers are still emitted into waterways, rivers, etc. and are not even concerned about it.The fact that there are few who know about this is the problem. Especially if agencies, companies, and the government are not issuing out warnings . There needs to be a plan of action-testing of waters and more treatment plants to ensure the safety of the people. If nothing is done, there is bound to be an even greater dispute, and governments will be met with very unhappy people.

I find it quite surprising that there is no government regulation on this issue. Personally, I don’t want to be drinking somebody else’s prescription pills. I think other people would feel the same way too. Due to the lack of knowledge on the short and long term effects of pharmaceuticals ingested through “tainted water” on the human body, I think the issue is not receiving enough attention. Over time, the concentration of pharmaceuticals in water is just going to continue to rise, and the problem will need to be addressed sooner than later.

It’s disturbing that a study found that concentrated doses of pharmaceuticals caused a certain species of male fish to turn female when the pharmaceuticals were exposed to their habitat. It makes you wonder the effects that pharmaceuticals could have on humans in the near future if this issue continues to go unaddressed. Being said, something needs to be done. I think some form of government regulation directed towards bottling companies and water treatment plants is needed. A method to remove these pharmaceuticals should be put into effect before water intended for consumption is put into circulation.

how does the government allow these contaminants into our water. Is there a possibility that we could live longer if these contaminates were removed. someone needs to make a way to get these out of our water. what about the people with sever drug allergies like they could die from this. does no one care about our heath but us like even the government drinks water that is contaminated do they think about that.

It isn’t crazy to think that medicine that people take daily can affect every single one of us. I thought medicine actually dissapeared inside your body, but I guess it makes since matter cannot be created or destroyed. We’re not the only ones being affected by this, fish and many other animals use water daily so they’re also being affected. I guess everything is actually “recyclable”

Before reading this article, I had never thought of where the pharmaceuticals in our body go, considering that it is not an issue many people talk about. I never knew that we only digest a little bit of the pharmaceuticals we take, and the rest goes into our water. I find it hard to believe that our government has not found a solution to this terrible problem, since it could be affecting us in ways we couldn’t imagine. I understand that it must be almost impossible to find a way to remove these prescription drugs from out water supply, but I am sure if we can invent auto drive vehicles, then we can find a solution to this problem of our water.
I believe that our government must find a solution to fix prescription drugs from getting into our bodies, because it can be very dangerous and could be affecting our bodies. I do not understand how we have not found a way to remove these pharmaceuticals from our water supply because it is very unsafe for not only us, but also for the environment and the organisms living in these infected waters. I hope that soon this issue will be fixed, and I can know that when I drink water, I am not also in taking prescription drugs that may harm my body.

Before reading this article, I had no idea how contaminated our water could potentially be. I used to just drink water without thinking twice about that it could have traces of harmfull substances in it, but now I will be more mindull of that. It is also very sad that it has such negative impacts on fish, and the government needs to figure out how to make sure that the water is purified before people are able to drink it. Even though it may be safe enough now to drink, we need to fix this problem before it gets worse in the future and starts making an impact on the population.

Wow. I really had no knowledge of this issue at hand. It is difficult for me to even conceptualize such a pertinent problem in our everyday lives- a problem which most Americans are unaware of. It is incredibly difficult to come up with a solution to this issue because it is so complex and intertwined into our everyday lives. We can’t give up prescription medication, as millions of Americans with serious medical issues will be left without treatment.

Yet, this issue highlights another problem that often stays unmentioned- over-prescription. An abundance of Americans are prescribed new prescription medications everyday, many unnecessarily. Most anyone you encounter will have taken prescription medication at some point in their life. Limiting the amount of prescriptions citizens are given, and thus disabling the pharmaceutical business to further profit off our inhibitions, will help assist in uncovering a solution.

Despite its benefits, this course of action does not completely solve the issue, as many Americans really do need prescription medication to live healthy lives. What I think is fundamentally necessary is government action. Congress must pass legislation requiring water treatment plants to find means of destroying the toxins left from prescription medication in urine and fecal matter. It may take years before legislation is enacted, but raising awareness is a good first step and can help catalyze the legislative process, considering politicians’ desire to please their constituents. More articles such as this one should be written to create a sense of need. Thank you for sharing this Mr. Fundi!

This article is very interesting. This could either benefit us or make us think whether it’s a good thing or bad things because any bill could be a drug and no drug is good unless its notified by a doctor. The government and us the people should take more notice of the things we are drinking and what they contain. This can benefit us if we were sure that taking that bill will do us no harm because then we could carry that bill around and if we get thirsty and there is no water besides dirty water we can get some of that and just put the bill and the water would be perfectly fine. This article really makes you think about what you are drinking when you just get a glass of tap water. I noticed that there is a taste difference between tap and bottled or spring water and I may have figured out why now. All of the substances and medicines that end up in our water will begin to cause problems in the long run.

This article is very interesting. This could either benefit us or make us think whether it’s a good thing or bad things because any bill could be a drug and no drug is good unless its notified by a doctor. The government and us the people should take more notice of the things we are drinking and what they contain. This can benefit us if we were sure that taking that bill will do us no harm because then we could carry that bill around and if we get thirsty and there is no water besides dirty water we can get some of that and just put the bill and the water would be perfectly fine. This article really makes you think about what you are drinking when you just get a glass of tap water. I noticed that there is a taste difference between tap and bottled or spring water and I may have figured out why now. All of the substances and medicines that end up in our water will begin to cause problems in the long run.

This article really opened my eyes to how medicine could affect our life’s in more ways than one. I never really thought of where the medicine goes once I put it into my body. It makes me kind of curious if I’ve ever drank water that had some form of medication in it. I would hope that our government would protect us from something like this. It is very concerning that they don’t because if someone consumes something that their body is allergic or responds badly to then they could be in serious danger. I think that our government should do more or look more into this because it could cause harm to someone.

The fact that we could be drinking unknown chemicals and toxins is fun unpleasant, worrying thought. For someone who takes medicine daily and uses many products with a high amount of chemicals in them, I have never thought about where the excess product goes. While these chemicals may not be a current problem in our environment, they could come back to bite us in the future. If the people, as well as our government, do not act quickly and efficiently to stop this, many problems could emerge. People must be educated and informed about how to help lessen the effects of this soon-to-be-pressing problem. Once people realize that all products and chemicals end up somewhere, especially in their drinking water, I think sufficient action will be taken. Even though many of us have water that has been through a filter and claimed to be “fresh” and “pure”, there is no way to know if that is true or not. If we truly want to try and make our water as fresh and pure as possible, we need to do more than put it through filters. We need to find ways to safety dispose of chemicals and pharmaceuticals before it is too late.

This article is very interesting and makes me think if I’m really taking care for myself. We should all be concern in the water we drink in. I think that it is very bad that they put chemicals in our water and may definitely hurt my health. Not only us humans gets effected, animals as well. The government should really make sure that our water is healthy to drink. I think we as the people drinking the water should be more informed about this current situation. The government should already plans in making our water clean. It makes me think that the government doesn’t really care about their people. After reading this and learning that people go to the hospital from just drinking water really makes me unhappy about our government not taking any actions. We people should really pay attention to the water we drink and find a solution to it.

I am shocked be the fact that there is little to no control on the contamination of our water. Not only does the majority of our world’s population not know that the water is contaminated, but our governments are not making a change. With no visible signs, many people including myself before reading this have no clue about this issue. When given these prescriptions, it is made clear to not share these medicines with others, yet when drinking this water, we are consuming these prescriptions that are not meant for our bodies. As time goes on, the concentration of these medicines in water will continue to rise higher and higher.

Not only are these contaminated waters affecting us, but they are also affecting the wildlife in these waters. It shocked me when the fish changing genders due to the concentration of the water. Without addressing this issue, what impact could this have on humans in the future? There are no laws regulating these waters which is very scary in my opinion. Water companies claim to have filtered water, yet this is false. These prescriptions still remain in these fluids. This is a serious issue and these waters need to begin to be regulated and screened before becoming available to the human population immediately.

The concept of this article worries me not only because of the chance of pharmaceuticals in the water supply, but because of the government’s reluctance to support initiatives towards clean water unless it benefits them in any way.
Of course more research needs to be done before making a conclusion on whether the materials in the water are toxic or not, but the threat of increasing amounts of pharmaceuticals in the water supply is disturbing to me, especially since the government has not been responding. Access to clean, fresh water must be included in the rights to life Americans and citizens of the world are given. In a country as developed and with as much of a capacity for research as the United States, it is appalling to hear of lawmakers refusing to consider potential toxins in the water supply as a public health crisis.

Like many Americans, I have never considered what happened to the pharmaceuticals we take after they leave our body. I always assumed that they were metabolized during our body’s fight to cure us of whatever illness is currently inhabiting our body. This article opened my eyes to the dangerous world we are living in. Since 2014, Flint, Michigan has been experiencing a nightmare. For the past three years, their drinking water has been contaminated with metals and other contaminants. This problem persists to this day, so apparently, the government has not taken an active role in this dilemma.

Taking clues from the Flint Water Crisis, I believe that it is safe to assume that the Federal Government would not assume a large role in dispersing the pharmaceuticals from drinking water. Since this is an existing program, I believe that the government should first conduct scientific research about the effects of these drugs reentering the body through water consumption. Secondly, based on the results the Federal Government should take action on the issue because after all the nation’s health should be of top priority.

The fact that many water companies say that there water is filtered and pure is just false. After reading this article I now realize that we are not safe. We as a society are being put in harms way by drinking this contaminated water. The environment is being harmed the Earth’s rivers, streams, and lakes are being contaminated because of our dumping of pharmaceuticals into the waterways. The animals are also being harmed. Take the fish for example, the male fish are becoming female. If that can happen to fish imagine what can happen to us. Even after the test on fish, our water, and the dangerous pharmaceuticals our Government is doing nothing. They are not implementing laws and to change this we first have to educate ourselves and everyone around us because this is a serious issue.

Not only are the pharmaceuticals affecting us they are also going to affect the future of the Earths inhabitants. We as humans use many products for our beauty, the house, the car, etc. We do not think of the consequences the products have on our environment and this is what is happening with the pharmaceuticals. There are no visible signs of contamination and because of the crafty advertisement of water companies we keep drinking the contaminated water. We need to think about our future because it can be a small problem now, but later it will be a bigger problem. We need to take action and it has to be now!

This article got me thinking about our water. Is the water really that bad? How could the government let us drink it, (especially after the flint river thing) The water would eventually kill us little by little, and the government it seems like doesn’t even care. It’s sad, really.

I was not previously aware that we did not have filtration systems designed to filter pharmaceutical contaminants. This could prove to result in a massive health crisis. If these contaminants continue to exist in out water then the levels will only rise until it reaches a critical, toxic level and we all die. A solution to this issue should be of utmost priority.

The lack of laws designed to regulate this is scary. Even more terrifying is the lack of awareness of this problem. I’m sure the reason this issue exists is because the right, best minds for the task are completely unaware of the issue to start. Everyone should spread the knowledge of this problem at the very least and if one can they should immediately begin work on a solution.

Sewage treatment and water quality are some of the most important issues of our lifetime. Most people do not know that water is not 100% rid of impurities like pharmaceutical products. New systems need to be put in place to solve this problem. The article was very informational. There are some fragments and grammatical error, but overall your English is great!

This topic makes me think about what is in the water I drink everyday. It makes me a bit nervous thinking about the toxic material that could be in our water. We need to find a way to get this material out of our waters. If we don’t then we may be affected badly by it. It is important for all of us to stay safe.

This article is about the pharmaceutical products that end up in our water. This happens when someone takes any sort of medicine, most of the medicine that we take doesn’t metabolize and actually becomes waste and goes out into the water system. The shocking part is that we don’t know what this does to our bodies. The only effects on living things we have seen is the negative effect on fish. It causes male fish to turn into female fish, clearly it is changing biology think about what effects it could have on us. This needs to be investigated, by the government because right now the government isn’t doing anything. The only way to fix this is to push for legislation. Right now in Atlanta, the lack of legislation is putting everyone at risk.

It is quite terrifying to think about the pharmaceuticals that we ingest and pollute our systems with unintentionally. This is especially a problem when considering the concern over antibiotics. We are possibly creating super bacteria that will be untreatable and the more we put in the worse and faster it will get. Working in a veterinary practice, it is not uncommon for animals to have multiple pills that they are taking and this is going directly into the earth. It is hard to think of a good answer for this issue because we have to allow people to treat their illnesses. My hope is that people can find alternatives to medicine when there is one and as well learning about the issue.

As many of the other students and people who have previously commented on this blog have already mentioned, this is a very informative article. It was quite enjoyable to read and although there were a few grammatical errors I found it very interesting and most importantly not boring as I would many science related articles. It is rather frightening to become familiar with such an unknown topic even though it could have a massive impact on how we obtain our water. However, while I like that I now know about how pharmaceuticals negatively influence our sources of water as well as animal habitats it would also have been helpful if you included ways we could get involved. As a student I might not research methods to fix this situation on my own but I may be more inclined to if I knew of ways I could help in general.

I agree with the article. Pills of any sort, namely opiates and depressents have no place in our drinking water systems. The most scary thought however, is not what individually these pills do but what they do when mixed together, such as what the end of a drug commercial tells us not to do, or to “consult a doctor.” Even the short term studies seem to indicate a long term trend- that any drugs in water can be a public health hazard. Take Flint, Michigan, for example. Years and years, and billions of dollars later, Flint is still without safe drinking water. While not a drug, lead, the substance in Flint’s system given a foreshadowing of a future that is to come if we are not careful of such things as simple as water. We need a fix for these problems, and we need it soon. Hopefully with a new president, these issues will get the attention they require.

This article was very interesting and informative on the effects of pharmaceutical contaminants. It was really scary reading how harmful these contaminants are on wildlife and ourselves. The water that we drink on a daily basis claims to be pure, but in reality, it is not what is claims to be. If we do not find a solution to this issue very fast, then it could end up being more destructive then we could imagine. I really enjoyed reading this article and it informed me on something i had not put much thought into before reading.

This is a good article because it explains, in great detail, a problem that some people never knew. I never thought about how the medications that people take could be polluting our water. The fact that the chemicals that are found in our water can change a male fish to a female fish is alarming because it is mutating animals in a way. If the waters are capable of doing that to a fish then it makes me wonder what these chemicals to do to humans if there were higher concentrations in our water. This article made me wonder when and if they’re ever going to do something to prevent the chemicals from our medications from getting into our water.

I found the article to be very interesting. This is the first time I’ve heard about our water being filled with pharmaceuticals that most people don’t need. I think it’s nerve racking that our government isn’t doing anything to fix it and allowing us to be infected. We usually use water to cleanse our bodies but if the water is contained with pharmaceuticals, what can we use to cleanse our bodies from all the food and drinks we’ve had? If the water affects the male fish, I wouldn’t be surprised if it effected us in a way as well.

This article (for the class hw) brings up a very interesting issue that is not talked about a lot. There is contamination in our water from the pharmaceuticals we digest and the pills we take. These drugs go through our sewer system and infect our water. Studies show that this could lead to disease in the human body that is very dangerous. This is a major issue that needs more attention immediately for humanities sake.

An interesting thought occurred to me about a year ago when I decided that I would no longer use over the counter medicines to cure illnesses such headaches by using medicines such as Advil. I decided this based on the fact that I had no idea what my body did with the medications I used. This points brought up in this article are extremely interesting because a lot of individuals like myself, had no knowledge of how pharmaceuticals are hurting our wildlife, water, and overall environment. I strongly believe that if more people knew about this, then the government would look into some way to handle it. Great article.

I found this article to be very interesting and relevant to today’s culture and society. The issue of clean water affects all living things world wide. After learning about the pharmaceuticals that infiltrate our water, I believe that everyone should be made aware of this issue. This article led me to want to educate others on this critical topic, including my government officials. I wonder if the pharmaceutical companies are doing their part as well by trying to make their products more biodegradable?

This article was very informative and eye opening for me! I’m not sure about other people, but for me, I would never even think about something as small as pharmaceutical contaminants in our water, let alone realize how serious it can truly be. Learning that it can change a male fish to a female, or that “only a small portion of the medicine we ingest is actually metabolized” and the rest may end up in our water is very concerning. Since many people do not realize this is a problem, I do not see people or the government taking immediate action in the near future, which can be dangerous considering the longer we wait, the worse it will get. Therefore, it is important to get the word out and help people realize their drinking water may not be exactly what they think it is so change can occur.

This I just mind blowing, I never knew that all these things were in our water and that they were actually harmful both to the environment and our water. I never really thought about any of this at all. It’s the first time that I hear about there being pharmaceuticals in our water because what goes in must come out! I think that its pretty interesting that the pharmaceuticals turned some male fish into females like I didn’t even think that that was possible. This article is very informative about the pharmaceuticals in our water and it’a actually mind blowing because we could be investing these pharmaceuticals everyday and we don’t even know about it because no one really tells us. I think that we could definitely sterilize the water and see if that takes out the pharmaceuticals to see if its taken out of the water. Doesn’t hurt to try. I loved this article and thank you for informing us about pharmaceuticals in the water we use on a daily basis.

This is a well thought out article! It stirs thoughts on many aspects of life in my head. What if these pharmaceuticals are changing the way our era is living in greater ways than we expect. They could possibly effect lifespan, making it either longer or shorter; effecting tolerance to disease and sickness; and the preservation of bodies after death. There could be many other effects of this flaw in cleaning water, we just aren’t sure about any of it. Personally I would prefer to know what exactly is in my water as well.

I believe this article to be an eye-opening learning experience in that while the many advertisements and other forms of media may tell us that all the water we drink is ‘purified, all natural water’, that isn’t really the case. In reality, there are many things the government and large-scale companies hide from us, the truth behind what we consume being just one of them. It isn’t something that is always detrimental as I don’t really see this as being too big an issue other than possibly false advertisement. While this article does speak of the possible dangers of these pills taking a negative effect on us as experimented with the fish, I’ve yet to personally see something that would be so drastic. Life seems to go on as well as it always has more or less, so these pills could have been in our water since even before some of us were born into this world, at least thats my possible take on it, I really don’t know.

This is a grave post. It shows how pharmaceuticals can have different affects from humans and animals. Also undergoing different lives such as in the sewage and not in the sewage. It’s affect have a great impact on our lives, due to the affects it has on water. If the water has impacted male fish in a negative way, then it interests me on how it affects us.

This article is super interesting! I never knew how pharmaceuticals affected our water before now. I think the government must take action to prevent our water from being contaminated. It can destroy the animals in or ecosystem and hurt the people who may have rely on this water to drink.

Dr. Fundi – This post makes excellent points about the dangers of pharmaceuticals. While prescriptions can be very beneficial to those who need them, they can have dangerous consequences to those who may not need them. Drugs can interact with each other and cause numerous side effects. Our health could be affected, but nobody is quite sure of the effects of drugs in the water. It’s frightening to me that government isn’t doing anything to remove the pharmaceuticals from our drinking water, and this needs to change. The safety of the general public is paramount, and since government provides water service, it should be their job to ensure the integrity of the nation’s water supply.

I really enjoy how I am enlightened by this issue. It is very nasty if I am just now realizing that there could possibly be pharmaceuticals in the water I drink every single day. Another thing that was brought to my attention and I am very glad about it is that there is no government planning to help this issue. This was a great article!

I had no idea or had never even thought about the ramifications of medicines and other pharmaceuticals on the environment. I care about the environment a lot and eventually hope to have a job in the environmental field. I feel guilty for not knowing anything about this issue, and I am shocked that this is not talked about more. However, it does not shock me that there has been no governmental intervention with this issue. There are even more pressing environmental issues that have not been talked about enough or resolved.

I find it very interesting that this isn’t being talked about more. Medications enter our water systems each and everyday and the concentration only grows. I guess the government doesn’t want to spend money tackling this issue. I liked your articel and honestly before this I didn’t think about the consequences of medicine in our water streams.

This topic is very interesting, because it talks about the toxic level in the water that everybody. It is a very serious problem because it is causing danger to the water everybody drinks. It can cause people to get toxic and can kill them. It is hurting the environment too,it is damaging the fish too. The government should really make sure that the water is clean to drink, and put money to a program that can help clean the water.

i believe its kind of like how we have fluoride in our water. but its probably more harmful. its just pollution, there is so much pollution its hard to keep up with it. where does it go if not into the environment? i dont know much about it when its evaporated into the clouds does that filter it out or so could it just be simply filtered out before going into a larger water source and altering the fish’s minds into being gay. these poor fish…

This article was very informative. I had no idea how medicines could also affect our lives and they are going to the water we drink every single day. I am very surprised that there is not any government institution to solve this problem. Great article!

I really like this article because it told me things I never knew before. I did not even know pharmaceuticals were being put into our water, let alone the fact that the government is not doing anything about it. America promises us rights some countries dream of – such as clean, accessible water. The fact that medicines in water are even changing the gender of fish, who knows what it is doing to us.

I thought of this article to be very informative, pharmaceuticals such as atenolol , carbamazepine, gemfibrozil, and many more have all been found in same drinking water we consume on a daily basis. Though this may not be one of he biggest water epidemic we’ve seen, it’s still one that we should definitely be worried about. The study on fishes populations was one that intrigued me and made me question if it could affect us in a similar way. The idea that there has been no government intervention is quite alarming, you’d think we’d be protected in some way. This article was informative and I fell as though I might of learned something.

This article about tainted water is very interesting.The Pharmaceutical industry controls all of society, and is contributing to the contamination of the ocean. It was very saddening to hear that the gender of a fish can change because of the toxins in the water. If fish are hurt by the toxins, then humans are also hurt too. its hard to imagine the countless amount of medicine in our water.

This article is great. My only questions why nobody knows about this. In the article it mentions how our water gets contaminated with drugs, and pills etc. After all there isn’t any report about anyone who has been harmed due to this problem. Maybe once everyone see the actually effect this has on you. Then there will be a change.

This post has really opened my eyes about the dangers of the water we drink and use everyday. The article has taught me that just because something looks clean doesn’t mean it really is thoroughly. Most people aren’t aware of this situation and they should be. I feel like if more people are aware of this situation they will take more measures to control it and watch how they treat there medication. In conclusion I thought this was a really well detailed and informative article that made me aware of the water we use everyday.

This article is so eye opening. I had no idea of the negative affect that pharmaceuticals had on the enironment. There is no surprise that this important topic isnt widely talked about because it isnt relevant the mainstream media. Also that the government has done anything to solve this issue. This really makes me wonder what other things arent as safe as we thought because water is one of the few things that people think are completely safe but in reality we just arent aware of what is really in it. I am definitely going to do my research from now on on the things that i consume because you never know the dangerous chemicals that can be in them.